This Chinese Detergent Ad Might Be the Most Racist Commercial Ever

A Chinese detergent brand, Qiaobi, just released a commercial in which a dirty depicted black man is shoved into a washing machine, and emerges as a clean Asian descent. I’m not making this up.

The ad begins by showing a black man, with paint on his face and clothes, walking into a laundry room. A woman of Asian descent signals in a come-hither way after the man whistles at her; she then proceeds to shove a detergent capsule into his mouth, and push him into a washing machine. The woman sits on top of the machine, while muffled yells are heard from inside. She then opens the lid, and pulls out a smiling man of Asian descent.

Most marketing executives would love for their ads to go viral, but not for the wrong reasons. The Qiafobi commercial has only been out for 24 hours and is already considered the most racist commercial ever. To make matters worse, the commercial is being shown on TV and in movie theaters in China, according to Huffington Post.

The commercial is actually a copy of an Italian laundry ad where just the opposite happens: A white man is put into the washing machine and comes out black as the words on the screen declare “coloured is better.” So, which is worse: the racist tone or the plagiarism?